BOOK REVIEW: Louis Agassiz: Creator of American Science by Christoph Irmscher

Review by Erin Wayman

By Science News, 21:56 PM March 20, 2013

Swiss-born Louis Agassiz was the most famous naturalist in America in the mid-19th century. When he died in 1873, people across the United States mourned the loss of their favorite scientist.

Today, Agassiz is largely forgotten outside academia. After reading his biography, it’s not hard to understand why people may have wanted to forget him. Agassiz was something of a scoundrel — an arrogant idea stealer who left his family when he immigrated to North America. He also rejected Darwin’s the...